Ultimate Carrot Cake

I love a good carrot cake! And this one did not disappoint. Next time I make it the only change I would make is to use pecans and not walnuts. 

 submitted by Michelle

from It's A Keeper

Ultimate Carrot Cake

Ingredients 

Cake 

2 cups flour 

2 teaspoon baking soda 

½ teaspoon salt 

2 teaspoon cinnamon 

3 eggs 

2 cups sugar 

¾ cup vegetable oil 

¾ cup buttermilk 

2 teaspoon vanilla 

2 cups grated carrot 

8 ounces can crushed pineapple, drained 

3.5 ounces can flaked coconut 

1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped 

Buttermilk Glaze 

1 cup sugar 

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda 

½ cup buttermilk 

½ cup butter or margarine 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Cream Cheese Frosting 

½ cup butter, softened 

8 ounces package cream cheese, softened 

16 ounces package powdered sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Cook Instructions 

Line 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with wax paper; lightly grease and flour wax paper. Set pans aside. Stir together first 4 ingredients. Beat eggs and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrot and next 3 ingredients. Pour batter into prepared cake pans. 

Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. During the last 5 minutes of baking, begin making glaze. Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. 

Drizzle Buttermilk Glaze evenly over layers; cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. 

To make the frosting, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended; stir in vanilla. Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. 

This cake is best if you refrigerate it for at least 4-6 hours before serving.

Foil Packet Chicken with Snow Peas and Carrots

Made this very flavorful, yet easy, and healthy recipe from My Kitchen Cafe! My children even liked it too!! Amazing!! Will definitely make this again!!



Foil Packet Chicken with Snow Peas and Carrots
submitted by Camille
(from My Kitchen Cafe)

*Makes 4-6 foil packets, depending on how small you make each one*

18-24 baby carrots
2 cups sugar snap peas
1 (1-inch) piece of fresh gingerroot, peeled and grated (I grated mine on my microplane)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or pressed through a garlic press
Salt and pepper
4 small chicken breasts ( about 1 ½ pounds), trimmed (with large, thick chicken breasts, I cut them in half by butterflying them and cutting all the way through to make two thinner cuts of chicken - this helps the chicken cook quicker and helps your chicken to go further)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut 4 pieces of aluminum foil (heavy duty) about 12 inches square (if you don't have heavy-duty aluminum foil, use two pieces of regular aluminum foil for each packet). In a small bowl, combine garlic and ginger (I used my fingers to gently mash them together).

Arrange the carrots and peas on the aluminum foil. Sprinkle with the ginger/garlic mixture (this doesn't sprinkle like salt and pepper so don't worry if you get a clump here and there - the flavors will absorb while baking), and salt and pepper to taste. Brush the chicken on both sides with the hoisin sauce. Top each portion of vegetables with a piece of chicken. Salt lightly.

Bring opposite sides of the foil up to meet over the chicken. Fold the edges together in a ¼-inch fold, and then fold over 3 more times. Fold the open edges at either end of the packet together in a ¼-inch fold, and then fold over twice again to seal.

Put the foil packets on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes. Transfer the contents of each packet to a dinner plate and serve.

Apple Carrot Muffins

These were so good and moist. They freeze really well, too. I doubled the batch and froze most of them and just pull out a few and thaw on the counter top (if I have time) or in the microwave. The boys love them for breakfast or after-school snack.


Apple Carrot Muffins
(submitted by Michelle)
from Sisters Cafe

2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1 c. oil
2 c. shredded carrots
1 lg. apple shredded
2 tsp. vanilla
½ c. raisins
3 eggs

Mix dry ingredients together. Then add remaining and mix. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. Makes 18 muffins.